Asia/Oceania

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has declared a national day of mourning

after scores of soldiers were killed at a military base by Taliban fighters dressed as fellow soldiers. The Defence Ministry has said more than 100 died or were injured in the Friday attack in the northern city of Mazari-Sharif, but no exact numbers have been released. One official told Reuters at least 140 soldiers were killed and many others wounded. Other officials said the toll was likely to be even higher. The attack starkly highlighted the difficulty of the long struggle by the Afghan Government and its international backers to defeat the Taliban insurgency. After arriving in Mazar-i-Sharif to visit the base, Ghani ordered that flags be flown at half mast on Sunday in memory of the troops who died.

A Darwin couple spent 24 hours awaiting rescue in Outback Western Australia after getting bogged in the Gibson Desert. The man, 32, and woman, 27, were heading to Warburton when their 4WD got stuck about 300km northwest of the remote community on Friday. They activated a personal locator beacon and a rescue bid stretched over two days ensued, led by WA Police and assisted by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. A search plane from Kalgoorlie — more than 900km away — spotted the pair who had made camp by their Toyota LandCruiser. On Saturday a second plane, an AMSA Challenger, dropped off an emergency kit which included a satellite phone so they could make contact with Warburton police.

A man has been charged with attempted murder after a woman was bashed with a hammer and stabbed multiple times at a home in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region. Police say the 51-year-old man and 47-year-old woman were at a home in Nimbin on Friday night when they began arguing and the woman was attacked. She was able to ring for help after the man fled the scene. The woman suffered stab wounds to her legs, arms and torso and underwent surgery at Lismore Hospital. The man was arrested on Saturday.